Ballet Shoes
by boop-oop-ee-doo
Summary: While being babysat by Natasha, Viv finds Nat's ballet shoes. This Brings up some memories for the Black Widow.- Companion piece to 'Dance, Dance' , set in the 'Nothing is Impossible' Universe. One-shot.


AN: Enjoy! A companion piece to 'Dance, Dance', one of my Flufftober one-shots. Also contains a few links with characters in the upcoming Black Widow movie, so check out the teaser trailer if you haven't yet.

* * *

It was relatively early in the Morning, a little earlier than Natasha Romanoff would usually wake when she had most of the day off, but awake she was, and once she was awake, there was usually no-changing the situation until the following night, so she might as well just get up.

She was just making her morning coffee, when her phone rang. Seeing Wanda's name flash on the screen, she answered the call.

"Hello?"

_"Hey, Nat. Are you busy Today?"_

"I have a meeting at five" Natasha replied, though it was not exactly a traditional meeting. "I'm free until then, though. Why?"

_"Is it really just a meeting?"_

"If I told you that, kiddo, I might have to kill you" Nat was joking, of course.. But no-one else had ever been able to tell when the Black Widow was joking.

_"Right.. Uh, would you mind watching Viv for a few hours? She's got a bit of a sniffle. We wouldn't usually ask, but we already promised the twins a trip to the Arcade for bringing home good report cards. We promise to pick her up before your, uh, meeting.."_

"Sure" Natasha's eyes lit up. She would never turn down the chance for a bit of one-on-one time with her beloved Goddaughter. "Just give me some time to get the floor ready, and let me know when you're on your way.."

* * *

By 'the floor', Natasha meant the floor of the compound in which the Avengers' bedrooms and all their living areas were located. This was also the floor that they tried to keep any visiting children confined to, as it was the safest. However, there were still a few extra precautions Nat wanted to take before six-year old Vivian Natasha Maximoff arrived for her visit.

Steve, Bucky, and Sam were out for the day at a Veterans event, and Carol was visiting her friend Maria, leaving Bruce to help Nat with her child-proofing. Most of what she needed to do involved hiding her many hidden weapons, mostly those in the cupboard containing her undercover outfits, which she often let Viv use for dress-ups when she minded her.

Bruce, waiting just outside the room, eyed two boxes already loaded with various forms of weaponry, while Nat had almost finished filling a third.

"You have that many weapons in your Bedroom?" He asked, more nervous than surprised.

"You're never more vulnerable than when you are asleep" Natasha murmured in reply, speaking almost as if by rote. "Never let the enemy catch you unprepared in your weakest moments.."

"What?" Bruce frowned.

"Nothing.. Red Room stuff, hard to shake" Nat shook her head, then pushed the boxes towards Bruce, while having kept just a few small items hidden on her person in case of emergency. "Go lock these up in the armoury for me? Wanda's dropping off Viv in a few minutes."

"Sure" Bruce very carefully picked up the boxes, holding them slightly away from himself. "I'll be in the Lab if you two need anything.."

* * *

Soon, Wanda arrived to drop off Vivian, with Vision waiting in the car with the twins.

"Thank you so much, Nat" Wanda smiled at her, Viv at her feet. The little girl was still in pyjamas, wiping her nose on a handkerchief, but managed a smile for her Auntie Nat. "We wouldn't usually leave her when she's ill, but we already promised Tommy and Billy.."

"It's fine, go enjoy your time with the boys while they're still early enough in their teen years to not be completely embarrassed by you" Natasha smiled, then turned to her Goddaughter. "Viv and I will have fun, won't we my little _Babochka?"_

"Uh-huh" Viv nodded.

"Still, thank you. We'll be back in a few hours" Wanda crouched to kiss her daughter's forehead. "Be good for Auntie Nat, _Fata dulce."_

"I will, Mama."

Once Wanda had departed, Nat crouched to her Goddaughter's eye-level.

"I heard you had a little sniffle."

"Yes" Viv nodded. "And my throat's a little bit sore.."

"Ah. Well, you know what Auntie Nat prescribes for sore throats?" Nat smiled and scooped her up, heading for the Kitchen.

"What?" Viv giggled.

"A nice big bowl of ice cream. And after, if you're feeling alright, we can play dress-up.."

"Yay!"

* * *

A short while later, after stuffing Viv full of ice cream, Natasha was letting Viv dig through the now weapon-free undercover/'dress-up' closet. Of course everything was too big to actually fit, swimming on the little girl's six-year old form, dresses dragging metres behind her and tripping her up, but that didn't matter. It was all for fun, and snapping a few cute pictures that Nat could send to Wanda.

However, in the midst of Viv's digging, she found something Nat wasn't expecting her to come across.

"Ooh, ballerina shoes!"

Natasha snatched the shoes from Viv rather quickly.

"I didn't know I put those there.." Ballet was part of her Red Room training, teaching her to be disciplined, and eventually, turning the graceful movements into something deadly. While it had been one of the least unpleasant parts of her life in the Red Room, she had, for very good reasons, tried to keep anything about the Red Room away from the children in her life.

"They're very pretty, Auntie Nat" Viv made no comment on Natasha's slightly odd behaviour, as the Avengers were a slightly odd extended family. "Where did you get them? Ooh.. were you a Ballerina?"

"Well.." Nat paused, thinking for a moment. "You could say that."

"Can you show me a ballet dance, Auntie Nat? Please?" Viv grabbed her hand.

Suddenly, Natasha was transported to the past, somewhere different, somewhere dark. With another young blonde, quite a bit older than Viv, but younger than Natasha, with soft brown eyes instead of green.

* * *

_"Please, Natasha.."_

"Let go, Belova.." Natasha remembered scowling and tugging her hand out of the younger woman's grip.

"Please" Yelena had repeated. "Everyone knows you are the best. I just need help getting my steps straight in ballet.. If you work with me, just for a bit, I could be good too.. I know what happens to the girls who fall behind.. I don't want to disappear."

Natasha had hesitated. Helping the younger recruit could be a slippery slope towards getting attached, and getting attached was a big no-no in the Red Room. But.. Yelena did show promise.

"Only until you get your shit together" Nat had relented. "And no-one can know about this."

_"I wouldn't want them to.."_

* * *

"Auntie Nat?" Viv poked her arm.

Natasha shook her head, breaking out of her memory. Of course it would come up Today, of all days.

"Yeah.. I suppose a little dance couldn't hurt."

* * *

As Natasha cleared a space in the Living Room, and tugged on the ballet slippers that miraculously still fit, she found herself quite glad that all three soldier boys were out for the day, and Bruce was happily ensconced in the lab, as little Vivian Natasha was probably the only person in the world that she felt any where close to comfortable doing this for.

"Okay, I think that's enough space.." Nat turned to Viv. "Ready?"

"Uh-huh" Viv, settled comfortably on the couch, wiped her nose again, then nodded. "Dance, Auntie Nat!"

"Alright.." Natasha took a breath, almost nervous. She hadn't truly danced in quite a while. She wasn't even entirely sure she remembered how to do it without turning the movements into deadly attacks.

She closed her eyes, taking another breath. Fighting was calculated, but dancing, even dancing as calculated and regimented as ballet, came from the heart. Maybe she shouldn't think about it quite so much. She should just 'do'. So she did.

Natasha played the music she'd chosen, and she danced. She leapt, she pirouetted, all with her eyes closed.

And Natasha remembered.

* * *

_"Watch me for a bit, and follow along when you're ready.. When you do follow, make sure you keep up.."_

"I will."

* * *

Yelena, determined, had kept up, and it hadn't taken long for her to catch up to, and soon surpass, her Red Room classmates. But she kept practising after hours with Natasha, long after she needed the extra help. They never really spoke about why.. never suggested that they might actually have come to enjoy each other's company. It was just something they did.

Later, they would spar together, practice weapons, somehow always trusting that the other one wouldn't actually hurt them. And later still, sometimes they would just talk. Usually not about anything important or meaningful, but when Natasha grew nervous as her 'Graduation Ceremony' approached, Yelena was the only one she told.

"Don't be silly, Sis" Yelena had replied. Neither one of them knew exactly when they had started calling each other that, it was just another thing that had happened. "This is everything we work for.."

"I suppose.." said Nat. "But.. Sometimes I wonder if 'This' is all there is.."

Yelena had hesitated for a moment before she said:

"So do I.."

After Natasha's 'Ceremony' was over, Yelena had come sneaking into her quarters, letting her cry into her chest so no-one else could hear.

* * *

As the music ended, Nat's eyes opened. She was breathing quite heavily for a moment, still caught in her memory, until Vivian's applause brought her back to the present.

"That was a really good dance, Auntie Nat" Viv grinned as she ran over to her, taking her hand. "Can you teach me ballet too?"

"Well.."

"Please?"

_"Please, Natasha?"_

_"No-one can know.."_

Nat smiled and crouched to her Goddaughter's eye-level, running her fingers through her soft blonde hair.

"Of course, _Babochka_. I'll teach you when you are feeling better."

"You will?" Viv grinned.

"I will" Nat nodded. "And when you've practised enough, we can show everybody."

"Everybody?"

"Everybody."

"Yay!" Viv hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Auntie Nat!"

Natasha chuckled. When she held her little namesake, it was almost like the red in her ledger had never existed. But some parts of her past, some people, could not be forgotten.

* * *

Sometime later, after Wanda had picked-up Viv, Natasha headed to her 'meeting', at a usually quiet train station. There was a small room full of lockers, and inside one of them, Natasha stuffed a duffel bag, full of clothes, a few sets of new identity papers, money and coupons for food.. Then she hid herself out of sight.

It was a while before a blonde-haired figure, a little scruffier than Nat remembered her, arrived to retrieve the bag. As the figure rifled through the contents, Nat revealed herself, and was almost immediately greeted by a pistol aimed at her face.

"Hey, Sis" Nat smirked, raising her hands in surrender. Usually they would spar, but the location didn't exactly provide ideal sparring conditions.

"You are not supposed to be here.." Yelena lowered the gun.

"I know. But you know I try every time" Natasha replied. "You don't have to keep running. If I vouched for you.."

"I don't think I fit in your big happy American Family.." Yelena frowned.

"I don't think I fit" Nat chuckled, "But here I am with four Godkids. Sometimes life throws some pretty unexpected curve balls. So.. Offer's always open."

"Thank you.." Yelena paused. "Maybe someday."

"I'll be waiting" said Nat. "Even if you just want to check in more than once a year, that's fine." Yelena was already gone, but Natasha felt quite hopeful. 'Maybe someday' was a lot more promising than the previous flat-out 'No'. She headed home with a smile on her face.

* * *

On the roof of the station, Yelena finished sorting through the bag. Amidst the clothes and papers, she found a brand-new pair of Ballet slippers.

For the first time in a while, Yelena Belova smiled.

* * *

**Translation:**

_Babochka: Butterfly_


End file.
